Wrightsville Beach convenes public meeting to review plans for multi-bridge replacement project

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — A packed house at a town hall conference room where a bridge committee, a transportation consultant, and residents gathered to discuss the North Carolina Department of Transportation Wrightsville Beach bridge project.  

It will replace three aging bridges; Causeway Drive bridge, which will have four lanes and a center median, and a pair of spans on West Salisbury Street, which will both have two lanes.  

Bridge Committee Chair, Neal Andrew, says meetings like this allow for adjustments as the project proceeds. 

“We’re making sure that everybody is sharing information with each other so that we’re minimizing the disruption as best we can,” said Andrew. 

Maps of the island were presented to highlight traffic in peak season. 

The blue lines represent backups and wait times, stretching a half mile from Causeway Drive and North Lumina Avenue intersection all the way back to the middle of Harbor Island. 

These queue times affect island access, emergency response times, and school arrivals, making data analysis essential. 

The data has been adjusted for Wrightsville Beach’s peak seasons, and the committee is determining the most effective traffic plan for the construction period. 

Andrew says that they want to prepare the community ahead of time. 

“The information we’re gathering can help people choose ‘Okay, if I left 30 minutes earlier, I might be able to avoid that peak travel time’ now that we know what those are in June, on a Saturday in June, for example, which is much more applicable data than what happens on a Tuesday in February,” says Andrew. 

With the project still in the design stage, Andrew says pre-planning is key. 

“Being able to share that information will help people plan accordingly and, again, we’ll have as much communication signage as we possibly can to help people navigate those extended delays that might happen,” said Andrew. 

The project construction is estimated to begin in 2028, and all concerns and questions can be directed to the Town of Wrightsville Beach’s project page. 

https://www.townofwrightsvillebeach.com/548/Bridge-Replacement-Project